Inertia
by Cerulean City
Summary: Even the old trainers face new experiences. Choices must be made. Compromises set. The world is a darker place than it really should be. For ALPoH's "7DS Challenge"; prompt, Pride. OC/OC, T for sex and minor language.


I'm not gonna lie, I'm really proud with this one. I worked on it off and on for about three months before I was finally satisfied. Yes, this can be considered a companion piece to Relativity, considering it stars the same characters, and there's always more where these came from!

Feedback greatly appreciated!

* * *

The cliffs where they decided to make camp were craggy and unforgiving. A river roared in the gorge behind them. The wind whistled a haunting whine between the staggered rocks that had been dumped by the glacier in times of old; the jagged edges of the rocks thrust up from the ground like fingers reaching for something to grasp. Something was different here, and they wouldn't have stopped if it wasn't for the storm coming on.

They were a duo. A boy and a girl, both about sixteen. They'd been traveling for nearly five years together, taking in the sights and sounds of their world. He was from Kanto. A gentle land. You could complete the circuit there in six months. She was from Sinnoh; travel time between the two halves of the continent, even in this day and age, took nearly a year. They both took that challenge, and won in their respective leagues. Some said they were talented beyond their years. Some said they had a gift. Others said they were simply lucky. Whatever the case, they were powerful Trainers in their own right.

They'd met in Sinnoh during her second challenge. She'd be eligible for the Elite Four challenge with two consecutive wins in her home region. He challenged her and lost the first time he saw her. Stunned, she offered to teach him her tricks, and they became rivals and training partners, companions in travel and eventually fast friends. Inseparable. They matched each other perfectly.

It was midway through Sinnoh, on her third challenge of the circuit. She'd been beaten by an upstart on the second challenge. Devastated, she retreated to the mountains, back to her hometown. He'd followed, not out of any sympathy (his own challenge was put in jeopardy), but because she was his rival, and that was something that could not be taken lightly. The Rivalry, some said, was destined from birth. A Trainer had one true rival, the superstition ran, and if you declared more than one you just hadn't found your true rival yet. It was a sacred bond, some said, that bound Trainers together forever. No one would match the power of the true rival; it was likened to the concept of yin and yang. Harmony. Balance.

He'd followed her to the mountains and only with a furious battle that the locals of Celestic Town swore shook the heavens that she agreed to follow him back to complete her challenge. They had been making their way back to the regular routes when the storm hit.

"You sure we can set up camp here?" she asked hesitantly, peering over the edge. Already, her long brown hair was soaked from the rain. "We might make it back to the caves."

He looked from her to the caves, half-a-day's journey above them. "No, we won't. We have to stop here."

She shrugged and with a flash, her mighty Empoleon materialized onto the rocks. She'd chosen the Water Starter of Sinnoh; she intermittently called him "One" and "Number One", because he was her first Pokémon. He was a magnificent creature. His royal-blue and black body was hardened from battle. Magnificent yellow crests rose above his beak and framed his snout, creating a regal air. A feral beak clicked beneath beady eyes, and he lifted one sharp-edged wing to protect his master from the rain. "Come on, Number One," she said, "we're making camp."

They set the tent up in a matter of minutes. By the time it was finished, both were thoroughly soaked without respite from a warm fire to dry their clothes. The solution was proposed to huddle together, and his Magcargo would provide enough flame to dry their bodies by his presence alone. The snail-like Magargo, composed of a sluggish body of molten flame and thick igneous rock for a shell, gurgled happily at the two Trainers as he warmed the air in the tent. Steam hissed from their clothes and warmed them considerably; he patted the creature's head with an affectionate smile.

The Empoleon stood in the rain with another Pokémon, the young man's blubbery, pure-white Dewgong. Both creatures of the deep welcomed the respite, and if there did happen to be any predators, they would ward them off. The two humans had put the tent in the most sheltered location they could find; nestled between large pointed rocks thrusting for the sky away from the edge of the cliff, under an overhang that cut the worst of the storm. Sleeping bags had been laid out; boots and shoes discarded, and there was nothing to do but await the end of the storm, or the morning.

For a while, they lay in silence. She put her head and her long, thick hair across his stomach. He reached down and placed a hand on her arm, rubbing it gently back and forth along her smooth skin. She sighed and traced idly the rough material of the sleeping bag with a slender finger.

"Rex." Her calm voice finally broke the silence in the tent. "Why did you come back for me?"

The question was posed without frills. She had always spoken bluntly and quickly; wasted words was wasted time.

He sighed. The tent shuddered as a large spike of lightning hit nearby; Dewgong keened in the after-darkness of the strike. He stopped the motion on her shoulder.

"Eventually there'll be people who don't like that decision," Rex mused. "They'll say that it's because we're friends and not just because of the rivalry. They'll say it's because I love you."

"Do you?" the girl asked, sitting up.

She pinned her companion with hard stare. Her violet eyes were cold, imperious, heightened by a fair face that was sharp in its beauty. She was soft, feminine, and full of lines; he was blocky and square, an impressive specimen. His nose was permanently crooked to the side from a break in his youth, and deep brown eyes gazed from hollow eye sockets and thick eyelashes. They fit together.

"…I'm not sure, Brooke," he whispered softly.

She grunted and drew away from him by pulling her knees to her chest and laying her head atop them. "Then you should have left me up here. I would have been fine by myself."

"Brooke," Rex began warningly, only to be interrupted by a loud clap of thunder. He blinked away the spots from his eyes and looked to her again. "Brooke, listen to me—"

"No, _you _listen!" Brooke shouted. "I would have been just fine on my own! I still have plenty of time to re-battle for the Elite Challenge—what are you playing at by being here? Just…fuck off already!"

"Hey!" Rex snapped, grabbing her flailing wrist. "I came up here because—"

"—because of a stupid reason, Rex!" Brooke snapped, jerking him towards her. His grip on her arm didn't diminish. His strength pained her but she made no notice of it. "You don't believe in The Rivalry; you never have! I want to hear you say it."

"I…I can't, Brooke," Rex pleaded, his eyes bouncing anywhere but at her face. She thrust her nose close to his and bared her teeth defensively. Malice etched her features.

"Say. It." She bit off the sounds in her tongue with a wild and clipped accent. Something almost feral burned in her gaze. Rex had never seen her like this before.

There was a long pause as Rex snapped his eyes to hers. They stared at each other for a long moment, both panting with ragged breath from their scuffle. The tent shuddered in the wind again and Brooke sneered at Rex's sudden indifference and silence.

"I knew it," she finally remarked. "You can't say it. You bastard. You said, 'come back with me if I win this battle'. You won, alright, and I'm still returning to Celestic with you. But you'll _never _win my heart, Rex, never. I gave you everything, my body, my heart, my soul, my battling tips and you _stomp_ on it. Fucking _creep. _My love was unimportant, wasn't it?"

When he didn't respond, she reacted. "_Wasn't_ it?!"she cried, shaking her arms in the air. Instantly, Rex jerked her back to him, trying to pull her to something more level. With a shriek, she sank a knee deep into his groin and he buckled in agony, releasing her. The zip of the tent-flap opened, and she disappeared into the storm. When Rex could finally settle his stomach long enough, he could tell that she was gone for good this time.

He pulled himself to a sitting position and kicked through his bags until he found his PokéGear. He'd purchased one at a shop in Saffron before leaving on his journey; Kanto was small enough not to need a large-scale communications network. The other regions, however, held a lot more wilds than the region of his birth, and the satellite-linked device had proved invaluable during his travels. He tried to call Brooke on her own PokéGear, but the storm made it impossible to establish any sort of connection. With a sigh, he clipped it to his belt and leaned forward to peer through the flap of the tent blowing in the wind.

As he did so, another crack of lightning split the sky, followed by the loudest crash he'd heard. The rocks actually vibrated dangerously from the aftermath of the event. Rex sat rattled for a moment, until his brain caught into gear. Throwing aside the flap, he jumped out from under the under hang.

"_Dewgong!"_ he roared over the sounds of the storm. "Dewgong, where are you?"

A barking cry came behind him; whirling, Rex found the slender form of his Dewgong, curled around a rock and still focusing very handily on the surroundings. He picked his way over to it, squinting his eyes against the pouring rain. Finally, his hand closed on the horn atop his Dewgong's head. The creature barked happily and looked up at its Trainer.

"Which way did they go, old friend?" Rex shouted hoarsely over the roar of the wind. "Signal Beam, now!"

Dewgong craned its neck to the left and shot a multi-colored beam of light into the darkness in that direction. Rex nodded, panting. He whipped a hand across his eyes in an attempt to dry off his face. Luck would have it that the direction indicated was not towards the cliffs. Even One wouldn't survive a fall of that height to the river below.

"Stay here!" he ordered his seal and then nearly tripped over a rock that lay at his feet. He stumbled off after Brooke, shouting her name. He'd made it nearly two meters when he tripped over another rock and fell flat on his face. His forehead blossomed in pain as it made contact with one of the sharp rocks and then his vision went black.

"Rex?"

Rex's eyes snapped open. For a second, the pain was lessened from the sheer fact that he didn't understand where he was. He heard unnatural sounds--mechanical, beeping—and deduced that he'd been brought to some hospital, or a Pokémon Center. Sunlight filled the room; the storm had long since blown itself out.

"Brooke?" he whispered tentatively.

She cracked a wry smile that nonetheless showed her relief. "You're a jackass…welcome back."

Rex took the next few moments to take in his surroundings. The bed he was lying on was hard, uncomfortable, and the angle of the sun through the window shot straight into his eyes. Brooke sat on one of the plastic chairs that every Pokémon Center seemed to have too many of lying around. She had changed from her traveling clothes into a blue dress, with a white tank blousy and free. The slight wind from the air vent brushed through her hair and the hem of her dress trailing on the floor.

"What…happened?" Rex croaked.

Brooke sighed as she leaned back in her seat. "You hit your head on a rock. Lucky Dewgong was there to Signal Beam me and One; else you might have been blown off the cliffs or died of hyperthermia or something. Stupid boy."

Rex shrugged as best as he could despite the brace holding his neck in place. He flicked his eyes to Brooke.

"Doc says you can get it off in a few days," she replied to the unanswered question.

"How long was I out?" Rex croaked in response.

"Nearly a day, Rex," Brooke responded softly. Her voice was soft from disuse or crying; the boy couldn't tell which. "It was…yeah. Nearly a day."

Rex caught that something was different in the tone of her voice. It seemed…he thought it sounded like she wasn't being entirely truthful about what had happened.

"Brooke?" he asked tentatively. "What happened out there?"

For the longest moment she didn't reply. Brooke's face curved slightly to the right and down, hair spilling into her face as a shield from his penetrating eyes. The hair on the back of Rex's neck stood on end. Something was definitely different about her since the last he'd seen her. The fire had gone out of her spirit and she seemed almost beaten. Like she had been through hell and high water and come out drowning.

"Brooke?"

"I…"

A long, dangerous pause filled the room until Brooke whipped her head up. "Rex, I have to tell you something. Um, I was being too hard on you. I'm really sorry, I know I shouldn't have said those things to you in the tent, but you never seem to be all here…or something…I dunno, but I know you love me and I had no right to say that."

Rex smiled and reached forward with a hand. Automatically, she gripped his outstretched palm, but it did little to comfort her. He tightened, feeling her fingers twitch as if she was going to bolt from the room at a moment's notice. "No, Brooke, I should be the one to apologize—"

"No, Rex," Brooke interrupted, "something happened out there, and it made me realize that if anything happened to you I don't know what I'd do. We've been together for so long that I can't imagine my life without you, is all."

Rex motioned with his fingers, and Brooke interlaced her hand with his at the thought.

"Rex…there was…I found something on those cliffs."

"What did you find, Brooke?" Rex asked as he stared intently into her eyes. She dropped her gaze automatically from his.

"Brooke, please…" Rex pleaded. "Please tell me what happened."

"I…"

The storm was raging around her with its broken fury but Brooke ignored it as she began climbing the rocks to the cave. She knew this was a stupid decision, all of it, but she couldn't stand to be with him anymore. He…infuriated her, confused her, astounded her, made her fearful…she loved him. She loved him with every fiber of her being but she couldn't stand him; he never said those three little words back and she couldn't take it. She had to get out, she had to go somewhere. She had lost focus of her goal, of the Elite challenge, when he'd come into the picture, from the instant he'd seen her and they'd locked eyes. The very instant she knew she belonged to him in every facet of her life and she hated it.

"What do you want from me?!" she roared to the sky, feeling the merciless pound of the rain on her face. "What can you take? I gave him _everything! _I love him! I love him, I love him, I _love _him and he doesn't love me back!"

Sobbing, she fell to her knees. She ignored the pain growing from her knees and the rips in her traveling clothes from where she'd fallen and scraped them. She ignored the storm around her and the wind and the rain and everything as she clutched her arms to herself. "It hasn't made…a difference," she told Number One, her proud Empoleon who huddled around her, clicking his beak in a fatherly and oh-so-familiar sort of way. Of any creature in their world, human or otherwise, he was probably the one that knew her the best. He reached one of his sharp wings around her body and stabbed it into the ground, digging into the rocks like they were butter. The spark made her cry out and she instinctively huddled to the soft down of his feathery body. The wing stuck into the ground broke the storm from her body as she leaned up against him. He clucked in disapproval at her behavior. Without even understanding his language, she looked up. Her eyes were red as the moon setting in the hills and brimming with tears.

"One…I don't deserve you," Brooke sniffled, "you've been my best friend all these years. You know what a pain in the ass I am. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Number One clucked appreciatively and bent his body down to snuggle closer to her. She sighed as she felt the rise and fall of his belly as he sucked air in through his nose. She clutched at his feathers for a long time before finally nodding. "We should probably return to camp."

One lifted his wing and let her out of his little warm net and Brooke carefully got to her feet. As best as she could against the storm, she started picking her way down to the campsite, surprised to see how far she'd actually gotten in the storm from camp. She was nearly within seeing distance of Dewgong when she saw him—

Rex lies for a long moment on the bed in silence, the pain from his head throbbing from the memory of the act the night before. Brooke's hand lay in his and she gripped it unconsciously. He could feel the rush of her blood under the pads of her fingertips and for a moment, his touch narrowed to only that. His blood next to hers.

"Brooke."

He finally broke the silence with a pleading gasp. She turned to him, eyes again brimming with tears.

"Brooke…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've been a real idiot to disregard what I've had in front of me the whole time. My…my pride and my ivory horse have kept me from seeing what…what anyone has blessed me with, be it the Original One or whatever. I'm blessed to have you, Brooke."

"A-and I think I love you."

Brooke smiled through her tears and leaned forward, laying her head on his stomach. He reached out with his hand and intertwined it in her hair and pulled, gently, making sure that she couldn't bolt from him. They'd given each other everything. Her battle experience. His raw talent for knowing how to manipulate his opponent. Their first kiss: Sunyshore beach, right at sunset. Their second kiss: later that same night, in the Pokémon Center with hushed voices and wandering hands. Their third kiss and much, much more: the night they had made it to the Pokémon League plateau, far across the sea. Two halves of the same coin; true rivals and lovers and everything that only they could give to the other.

"Rex," Brooke gasped, when he was healed and they were moving together in time, "don't leave me again."

He slipped an opal ring on her finger as she fell back onto the pillows and bit down roughly on her neck. "Brooke," he grunted, his lips ghosting over her ear, "I promise…I won't."

And then he leaned forward with a smile.


End file.
